Christian legal advocacy group ADF International is supporting attempts by Elon Musk’s X platform to challenge a 120 million euro superb imposed under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
The superb was handed down on 5 December last 12 months for alleged breaches of transparency and procedural obligations under the DSA. X denies any such breaches occurred.
X can also be being investigated for allegedly failing to stop “false information and illegal content”, possibly meaning more fines in the longer term.
ADF said that the definition of “illegal content” is incredibly wide attributable to the digital laws of every EU country. In Germany, as an example, it is unlawful to insult politicians online, and carries a penalty of up to 3 years in prison.
In its appeal X is arguing that it was denied due process and that it’s the victim of prosecutorial bias. The appeal is the primary ever legal challenge to a DSA superb.
The DSA has faced significant criticism, particularly from the US, attributable to concerns that it would effectively implement European speech restrictions on American corporations and, by extension, American residents.
Dr Adina Portaru, senior counsel for ADF International in Europe, said, “X is being targeted by the European Commission since it is a free speech platform. Social media platforms are today’s public square, and the DSA threatens speech in that public square.
“X is where tens of millions of individuals go to freely express their views. This is a crackdown on X by authorities who view a free speech platform as a serious threat to their total control of online narratives. By targeting X, they’re targeting the free speech of people the world over who simply need to share ideas online free from censorship.”
She added, “If the Commission’s concentration of power goes unchallenged, it would further cement a highly problematic standard for speech control across the EU and beyond.”
In a web-based statement, X said: “This EU Decision resulted from an incomplete and superficial investigation, grave procedural errors, a tortured interpretation of the obligations under the DSA, and systematic breaches of rights of defence and basic due process requirements suggesting prosecutorial bias.
“This landmark case is the primary judicial challenge to a DSA superb and will set necessary precedents for enforcement, penalty calculations, and fundamental rights protections under the 2022 regulation. X stays committed to user safety and transparency while defending our users’ access to the one global town square.”
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